The HHS Cross Country team competed in the fall sports season and were the only HHS athletic team to do so this year. Their district race was held on October 31. This running season was shortened, and some new rules were put in place. Runners had to have health screenings everyday, be six feet apart, and wear masks up until they started racing. 

Five runners had their last season racing in high school: Seniors Lindsey Kuykendall, Aaron Guss, Angeles Hernandez, Amir Ugarak, and Rahiem Thomas. 

Lindsey Kuykendall has been running cross country at HHS for three years. Her PR this year was 29:00. While running this year Kuykendall had some challenges.

“My biggest challenge this year was when my whole family got Covid and I was out of cross country for a few weeks,” Kuykendall said. 

Running for four years is senior Aaron Guss. His PR for this season was 17:31. He has been a spotlight runner since last year, which was his first year at HHS. 

Aaron broke his PR while running in districts.  Guss said, “My favorite memory this season was breaking 20 minutes at districts.” 

Rahiem Thomas was a first year runner and started in one of the weirdest seasons to date. Thomas’s PR was 27:28. Rahiem had fun running his first and last year at HHS. 

“My favorite memory was when I beat my time from my previous race my goal was like 27 minutes and I did it with the help of someone from another school I didn’t even know,” Thomas said. 

Angeles Hernandez was also a newbie to the team. Her PR was 31:33. Staying motivated was one of the biggest challenges for Hernandez. But through strength she was able to keep running. 

Hernandez said, “When I ran my first race, I ran an extra mile than I needed to and when I finally crossed the finish line, I felt so good about myself.” 

Last but not least is senior Amir Ugarak. His PR was 20:50. Amir also thought it was a struggle to stay motivated, but even as a new runner he overcame this. 

“My favorite memory was districts because almost everyone got their pr and it was a really nice time,” said Ugarak.  

Coach Branch had an amazing experience with her team this year. 

“I had a great team of kids and I am so grateful for each of them for following protocols so that we could make it the entire season without any quarantines, and for their positive attitudes when things weren’t like they should have been,” Branch said.